GM Foxy's 2nd Legacy of Fire

Game Master Foxy Quickpaw

I add the DC usually in the header line for my spells like

Level 1 spells (8/day) DC15

Makes it easier for you and also easier for me in case you forget to give it with the spell cast.

After going through the candidates history I will vote for pad300 (Omari the Landless) and Edeldhur (Roryx). They have the most consistent track record of the group and have identified the best the needs of the group, which makes me think they are attentive to detail. Plus they are overall friendly in their posting style throughout their different campaigns which is something I value too. Definitely no 1-liners.

How would you feel about picking up both? A group of 5 is usual business and I think their characters together complement quite well any need we might have going forward. That also spares us from going through more recruitment if there is any additional loss.

I fuly agree with Ohrmizd assessment

I agree as well.

Work was a bit hectic, but the holidays will make things easier for me.

@Heshan
Changed your position on the map to a five foot step. You told, that you stepped away and moving to the position you moved, would have provoked.

Hi everyone - thank you GM Foxy and the players for the vote of confidence in for having me join you guys in the game! Will make my best so you do not regret it :D

A few additional notes on Roryx - I see him as a gruff, but ultimately fair half-orc brought up in an harsh slavery environment. He can be deceivingly brutish, even if he is an intelligent practitioner of the Arcane arts.

I had to make some compromises due to the 20pt buy, but I do understand Foxy's concern about power builds which can get out of hand. I never start a game with an 18 in a stat, and usually on a 25 pt build I tend to use them to round up the character, instead of rocket boosting them ;)

I am still pondering whether I should make Roryx STR or DEX based (and what would effectively make him a better choice for a frontliner) but it is not an easy decision - I like the STR Magus because he is more versatile, being able to grab any weapon he comes across and just swing it appropriately, and also because he does not need magic to be effective in a tussle. The Dex magus could eventually get an higher AC (which is always good) - the downside to this is average less damage in combat (except when doing Magus burst combos of which I am not a big fan anyway), but I am not obsessed with unusually large damage numbers anyway, so it might never be a problem. If anyone has an opinion, let me know.

Admittedly I took the trait Finding Haleen - I did it to help balance out the character as far as skills/HP go. He is supposed to be resilient so needs the HP. And 2+Int skill points per level just make me want to cry... I am not sure how old was the Haleen portrayed in Ohrmizd's background (I know pad300 also has her in there, but as base I am going to reference a player from the original group ;)), but I envision Roryx's being in love with her - maybe they belonged to different slaves, or he saw her when accompanying his master to the market. They would eventually manage to slip away, and talk to each other away from the world - she would be the reason why he decided to try and release himself from the shackles of slavery, even if already used to them. Yet, when he decided to do that, and went to tell her, she was gone.

Yes, it shames me a bit for choosing this trait - it is just too good to pass. And Legacy of Fire is the only actual game where it can be correctly taken, dammit! :D

You're asking about a woman's age? That's ruff indeed.

I hope you're at least 6 feet tall. :P

Just kidding.

By the stats given Haleen is somewhere between 16 and 34 years old.

"A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age."
- Robert Frost

Welcome into the team Roryx! :)

Haleen is slightly older than Ohrmizd. She saved him as a teenager when he was in the Nightstalls in Katapesh, and she showed him how to survive there. They ended falling in the circle of a magical artifacts criminal group. It would have sense Haleen brought a half-orc able of magic to this group, or that Roryx learnt magic there. That would also mean Ohrmizd and Roryx know each other, perhaps some of those "rival friend" relationships that push you forward in competence. That would put us a step forward on binding together, which might be good. If you prefer us not to have a previous relationship, you could have been enrolled after Ohrmizd left to become a follower of Sarenrae.

The problem with weapon selection with the magus is it needs a one-handed weapon in order to use spell combat, and it benefits a lot from a wide critical threat to get real strength from spellstrike, which means even if you go STR 2-handed most people end up picking up a scimitar for a weapon, a longsword at most. At that point going DEX becomes very appealing for the reasons you already cited, + getting better skill synergy and initiative. But if you do not care, an axe-wielding magus half-orc must be something cool to see :)

Well everybody really seem to be into that Haleen Woman, although Undrella is soo much more beautiful :-).
Honestly I personally wouldn't Mind a bit more variety on that count, but at least it will be memorable scene once we meet that girl.

Anyways welcome to the group Roryx, Looking forward to playing with you.

As the guy who plays an archaeologist with fortune favored, I am probably ill suited for character advice, but as long as you are a competent frontline fighter I am sure we will manage as a party.

As for character intros, I think we should keep the streak alive and catch a Gnoll patrol somewhere in the desert carrying two prisoners to Kelmarane :-).
Although given our current situation maybe its better if they arrive as guards of a crossbowa and shields merchant :-).

You're asking about a woman's age? That's ruff indeed.

I hope you're at least 6 feet tall. :P

Just kidding.

By the stats given Haleen is somewhere between 16 and 34 years old.

Thanks for the info Foxy GM, and for the warm welcome guys!

As for character intros, I think we should keep the streak alive and catch a Gnoll patrol somewhere in the desert carrying two prisoners to Kelmarane :-).

Although given our current situation maybe its better if they arrive as guards of a crossbowa and shields merchant :-)

I like that.

It would have sense Haleen brought a half-orc able of magic to this group, or that Roryx learnt magic there. That would also mean Ohrmizd and Roryx know each other, perhaps some of those "rival friend" relationships that push you forward in competence. That would put us a step forward on binding together, which might be good.

Plus that. So I see the makings of a story taking shape ;)

On Magus and weapon selection and builds - I am an old school RPG player, since back in the day when magic marts did not exist (yes, that old). So I really struggle to funnel myself into a single, specific weapon path (which usually happens when you create a Dex build around scimitars or rapiers), because that approach means you will always trade in most other weapons for a chance to upgrade the one you are really good with. And that is funky.

What if a 'desert-equivalent Excalibur' drops?! We sell it? :P What if there are simply no magic marts? These are usually the reasons (+ the extra feat tax) that make me shy away from Dex builds, same thing for Magus. If I am STR based, I take Power Attack, and then my mind is free to explore other options like Tripping or some other techniques.

By the way Ohrmizd , do you have any idea what Teamwork feats you are planning to grab. Maybe we could find some synergies there?

EDIT: Also, Spell Combat does not work with either Fencing Grace or Slashing grace - so I would definitely need to go scimitar. And we already have a scimitar wielding acolyte of Sarenrae in our group ;)

So I have three guys running around who Haleen was caring for and that are really invested to find and "save" her. The thought of Haleen having hit her head and suffering from amnesia starts to look real good. ;)

I'd appreciate if you'd known each other for a while in your past. That way, Roryx and Omari could just walk in and be like: "Hey Ohrmizd, long time no see. You remember Haleen? We're looking for her."

That's totally anticlimatic, but not every introduction has to be about saving out of a life threatening situation. And according to the trait, you're going to search for her in Kelmarene, so it's the natural way for things to go.

If you insist on the "Saving from Gnolls" introduction, I can send the next patrol at Ohrmizd, Manuun and Heshan, and you jump in to save them. As the game went so far, this way around is the more realistic saving scenario. ;)

Thank you for offering me the opportunity to join your game.

With regards to the introduction, I'm good with however you want to run it.

@Foxy, an outstanding question from the recruitment: How much money does Omari have in equipment?

@ the Haleen mob:
Yes, I too took chose finding Haleen as my campaign trait - the extra skill point is gold for a 2 skills/level cleric... Currently Omari's connection to Haleen is pretty unspecified: "But the life of an escaped slave on the streets of Katapesh is brutish and short; Omari was lucky, he met Haleen, who hid him and helped him fit himself into this strange new world… She even helped him get a job with the skills he already had (as an Erastilian) as a bowyer’s apprentice." I think that needs editing to fit into this budding gang of criminals... which is something that Omari would definitely want out of; he's LG. A question, was Haleen at a rank where she could recruit her own followers as part of your "magical artifact criminal group" ? ( She appears to have a real habit of picking up strays. Also, is she a good person, or is she simply someone taking advantage of all these escaped slaves on the streets of Katapesh... )

NO insisting on it Foxy. if you can come up with something else go for it.

I'm cool with whatever may be the most seamless approach.

From how things are going around here the "look, I know that guy, let's act and free them from those gnolls" is the most probable scenario.

Some quick facts about my history with Haleen to help you find your place:

@Omari
I believe you can delete the dot post. You'd still have the campaign on your list.

@Omari

I believe you can delete the dot post. You'd still have the campaign on your list.

I'll try it

As for the starting wealth:

Besides some not even used magic items found, the adventure is scarce in riches so far, therefore I'd like you to not go in with 1000gp worth of equipment. For now please see what you get for 300 gold.

Truth be told the hint wasn't as much about Haleen, but about Ohrmizd going to find her. When they got wind that he left, they simply decided to follow. Haleen or whoever made her disappear did a really good job at hiding any tracks, but Ohrmizd did not. He told everyone why and where he was leaving and asked plenty of people on the way about Haleen.

That sounds a lot like Ohrmizd.

For now please see what you get for 300 gold.

Ouch! :P

I do not know about your preferences, but for me it would be a sweet spot the point were we all were friends in a distant past we are trying to leave apart. That kind of meeting were you find close to a person but also feel a bit ashamed by that period of your life when you met. You are a different person now. Maybe Roryx is still part of this smuggling organization, while Omari and Ohrmizd have tried to take distance.

Hmmmm, that is an interesting take - like the Sleepers movie from 86?

Hmmmm, that is an interesting take - like the Sleepers movie from 86?

I'm supposed to remember a film from 1986? ...

You don't have to - you can just look it up :D

Crunch added to Roryx profile.

Well starts to wonder what an honest graverobber like him does in such a company :-)

Roryx is a good guy deep within :D

You don't have to - you can just look it up :D

Crunch added to Roryx profile.

Traits: fate's favored, finding haleen, magical lineage

Three?

Yeah, I took a drawback. Is it a no go?

I don't see the drawback in the profile. Which one is it?

Ohrmizd wrote:

I do not know about your preferences, but for me it would be a sweet spot the point were we all were friends in a distant past we are trying to leave apart. That kind of meeting were you find close to a person but also feel a bit ashamed by that period of your life when you met. You are a different person now. Maybe Roryx is still part of this smuggling organization, while Omari and Ohrmizd have tried to take distance.

Hmmmm, that is an interesting take - like the Sleepers movie from 86?

Sort of, but hope not that crude of an experience and a brighter (and specially longer) future for our characters! :D

Besides if you like really old movies and have not watched them, I would recommend to review Ray Harryhausen's ones. They were a primary source of inspiration for Paizo when writing this AP, specially for the Simbad series and the Jason and the Argonauts one, but I also found interesting the One Million Years B.C and Clash of the Titans (the 81 one, not the new one, which is the only one I remembered having seen as a child). I still have to watch The Valley of Gwangi, but I think it was the one that made Jason Jacobs a crazy lover of dinosaurs. They all set a lot of the tone of the clean hero vs the strange arabic and greek myth forces the campaign promises to ramp up towards.

I don't see the drawback in the profile. Which one is it?

Pride! :D

Traits
Fate's favored: increase any luck bonus by +1
Finding Haleen: +1 HP +1 Skill per level
Magical lineage: save 1 level on metamagic feats on a chosen spell

Drawback
Pride: -2 on diplomacy and sense motive when your pride is hurt or challenged.

You chose an additional solid combat bonus in exchange for a situational penalty on two skills, your build doesn't care for anyway.

I'm not against drawbacks in general. But as we're not talking in the initial recruitment where everyone could benefit from it, and your specific selection is wildly in your favor and the drawback not even close to balancing the additional bonus I say: No.

I could argue Magical Lineage is also highly situational, right? :D

But no worries GM Foxy - I will drop it and keep Fate's Favored and Finding Haleen.

(out of curiosity - would it be ok if I took the feat: Additional Traits?)

Yes. That feat is ok, at level 1.

Yes. That feat is ok, at level 1.

Does this mean its not okay for me to correct my build error by selecting additional Traits at 3rd or 5th level? I have been planing to take Fates Favored via this route at one of the level where you get new feats. Just asking to prepare myself in advance for the heartbreak. there are probably other feats to chose from if you rule so.

Also since Heshan seems to be kept up a bit and the Ini 20 Gnoll is unconscious anyway, would it be if Ohrmizd and me posts pour turns already to speed things up once Heshan finds time in the evening?

What is the build error?

If you take this archetype (Archaeologist) without the Fate's Favored trait, you are making a very poor life choice.

Well I dont see it as that bad, but it would definitely been more useful than choosing Blood of Dragons (Bloodline) (Race) for a +1 Perception bonus.

Manuun was my first real PF character I build, having only played pregens until than so it took me while to find that trait and by then I had already used that Perc Bonus a few times. I would also accept a drawback like lonely to fit with the story that Manuun is lways falling to easy for pretty girls like Soraya or Undrella. But as you said yourself, drawbacks are mostly situational, and the trade probably too much in my favour.

Ei Man, don't feel lonely, Ohrmizd will always be there :)

I would also say the Strength penalty was a bad choice, as the ability to use a bow would have made your built more on par with the average once we level up and start having multiple attacks. Ranged combat is a very Feat intensive combat style, and you will have to squeeze Rapid reload there to have any useful ability to use a crossbow at higher levels.

sorry for missing my turn, I wads under the impression I waited for heshan.

Besides, Roryx, note that Manuun already has grease. Perhaps you could bring up a different level 1 spell.

Also, while talking about traits, perhaps magical knack might be of use to you, as you took a dip on ranger. A caster level shift is specially noticeable at lower levels, and you will be happy to have the bonus to bypass SR or dispel checks at higher levels.

Well the STR was deliberate and does not hurt too much until level 4 when it will be dealt with.

I probably overdid on the DEX but I leaned where heavily into the idea of a human trapdetector for a graverobber so it fitted with the concept.
STR 10, DEX/CHA 16 would probably be a smarter choice but I am sure I can live with that.
He will never be the strongest caster for this choice but that wasn't the role I build him for.

I'd be ok with you exchanging the dragonblood trait for the fate of the favored. And feel free to correct the stat distribution.

I know the pain of playing the first self built character with the nice backstory only to find out that I screwed up royally and that character couldn't do s%~# in battle when level 6-9 came along.

Besides, Roryx, note that Manuun already has grease. Perhaps you could bring up a different level 1 spell.

Got it - I will change it ;)

Ohrmizd and Manuun take down another gnoll. The gnoll to the right flees.

Manuun gets a free attack her correct? because the Acrobatics DC was his CMCD?

Just checking that I understand the rules. Its not like Ohrmizd can take down agnoll in one strike anyway.

Roryx's crunch has been corrected!

Foxy Quickpaw wrote:

Ohrmizd and Manuun take down another gnoll. The gnoll to the right flees.

Manuun gets a free attack her correct? because the Acrobatics DC was his CMCD?

Just checking that I understand the rules. Its not like Ohrmizd can take down agnoll in one strike anyway.

The acrobatics check was to move out of the grease and no you get no AoO, because of withdraw action.

ah thanks for teh explanation

Of course it wasn't that easy. Dex was racial bonus stat so moving from dex to Charisma does not really free up any points. so had to sacrifice something.

So the new stat block would look like.

STR 10
DEX 15+2
CON 12-2
INT 12+2
WIS 12
CHA 15

will do a complete rework in the next days and use from then on forward.

Thanks for the opportunity.

I guess next move will be to return to the Monastery so we can rejoin with the new recruits and give time the gnolls to forget a bit about us.

@ Foxy, do we enough time to collect everything? Otherwise we only take shields and spears and money of course.

@ Ohrmizd, fine by me but on the way back we discuss the virtue iof nonlethal blows in a quest to reduce the numbers of the gnolls

@Foxy, that is funny I opened my Spanish bestiary and the gnolls are having the spear treasure, I guess they fixed it during translation. Opening the Monster Manual (also Spanish version) I see they indeed where fighting with battleaxes in there, so your hypothesis is probably correct.